The Urban Tea Lounge
I have spent two and one half years living in the Buena Park/Uptown neighborhood in Chicago. I have to be honest and say that this neighborhood has been my least favorite Chi-town locale. Uptown has far too many homeless and crackheads and not enough shops. It also has its fair share of single gay men. It was a late afternoon tryst with one of these men that lead me to The Urban Tea Lounge .

The Urban Tea Lounge is located at 838 W Montrose. It is a laidback storefront cafe with several varieties of black, green, white, herbal and blended teas. They also have a small but inexpensive menu of sandwiches, scones, and other baked goods.

The place is cute and the owners are very friendly. The staff (which is small) is attentive yet laid back. In the 11 days or so that I have known of its existence, I have patronized the place nearly everyday. The tea is top quality with enough variety to satisfy the pickiest of palettes. My particular favorite is the Pagan Alms blend of green tea, chocolate, and vanilla. It is deliciously decadent tasting but wonderfully good for you. I can also recommend any of the Oolongs on the menu.

It should be noted that you can still have a decent cup of coffee here. There coffee comes from Intelligentsia.